


A Normal Home

by mechanonymouse



Series: Hogwarts AUs [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24716569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mechanonymouse/pseuds/mechanonymouse
Summary: Nothing had changed in the ten years since Harry Potter was left at Number 4 Privet Drive. The houses were still identical, still well groomed and inside Number 4 there was no indication that another child ever lived there.Everything, including his name, had changed for Harry Potter.
Series: Hogwarts AUs [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/32225
Kudos: 12





	A Normal Home

Nothing had changed in the ten years since Harry Potter was left at Number 4 Privet Drive. The houses were still identical, still well groomed and inside Number 4 there was no indication that another child ever lived there. 

Everything, including his name, had changed for Harry Potter. Harry Creevey, as he was now known, was normal young boy. Harry was a small and slim, despite wolfing down a full plate and seconds most meals, with knobbly knees and elbows rather like his brothers. He had very short black hair that was uncontrollable when longer than a couple of centimetres so his mum kept it shaved down all over, piercing green eyes framed by bright green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle glasses, a faded scar on his forehead that looked rather like a reversed J that permanently pulled one eyebrow up and a ready smile.

He was the beloved, but not spoiled, oldest son of Steven and Jessica Creevey and lived with his two younger brothers and their parents in a small, messy cottage on the outskirts of Little Whinging. From the outside the cottage was unremarkable; the lawn needed mowing and children’s outside toys were scattered across it but the vegetable patch was well cared for and the outside of the house in good repair. By the freshly painted front door three bikes were neatly chained up and two pints of milk, delivered by their dad, were sitting on the doorstep when Dennis opened the door to collect the post.He returned to breakfast table, where Harry was handing out toast, and dolled the post out not commenting on the letter for Harry. Letters for Harry weren’t unusual, the secondary school he would be starting in September wrote to him and the local library to remind him his books were overdue again.

Once he had helped his brothers get their breakfast ready Harry sat down to eat his own and noticed the odd envelope sitting by his plate. It looked like it was a parchment envelope, the kind where the letter itself had been cleverly folded to become the envelope and sealed with sealing wax, was hand addressed and had no postmark. The address itself was also odd, it was addressed to:

_Mr H. Creevey_

_Attic Bedroom_

_Molehill Cottage_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

Harry had received plenty of post but it was never addressed to his bedroom that he had only finished moving into yesterday. His bedroom under the eaves had been a major project for his parents and his birthday present. Since they had moved into the cottage he had shared a small cramped bedroom with his little brothers Colin and Dennis, but this year their parents had finished half of the attic conversion and before he went up to secondary and started doing lots of homework he had moved in to his own bedroom, a bedroom to which this letter had been addressed. 

‘Mum!’ Harry called, ‘I’ve got a strange letter.’

Mum put the last packed lunch in the right lunchbox and walked over to Harry. She examined the letter and tore the wax open. ‘Must be a gag,’ she said frowning. She shrugged, ‘We’ll find out Saturday, they say they’re sending a representative over.’ that said, she stuck the letter on the fridge and hurried them out the door to their holiday clubs.

Harry was a curious child but he was also a busy child, with holiday club, football, spending time with his friends before secondary split them up and helping with his little brothers. So while the letter stayed on their fridge for three days he was too tired and busy to think about it, in fact he had almost forgotten about it when there was a knock on the door as the family ate a cooked breakfast. Saturday was the only day both his mum and dad were off work in the morning, so it was the only day of the week they had anything other than toast and their choice of spread for breakfast. As a result Saturday breakfast happened later than normal and they were all still in their pyjamas. His dad groaned at the interruption and slowly pulled himself up from the table.

From the kitchen they could hear Dad greeting the visitor and a female voice responding. ‘Well,’ Harry’s dad’s measured voice rang through the house louder than his greeting, ‘I guess you better come in.’

Mum looked down at her pyjamas and threw on one of Dad’s t-shirts from the dirty laundry sitting in their kitchen and hustled them out into the tidier living room to see a severe, old fashioned looking woman.

‘As I told your father, I am Professor Minerva McGonagall,’ the woman said, ‘Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I believe your eldest son Harry received an invitation letter from us this week.’

They squeezed on to the three-seater sofa leaving the armchair for Professor McGonagall and not bothering to uncover the dodgy chair only Dennis could consistently sit on without it collapsing. 

The Professor had a large carpet bag with her from which she pulled a pile of the same thick slightly yellowed paper as the letter Harry had received. Then she finally looked at them properly, ‘Merlin, she breathed going very pale. There was a pause and she seemed to recover herself. ‘These must be Harry, Colin and Dennis.” she looked at each of them correctly as she said their names. ‘They’re all on the roll for Hogwarts.’

Professor McGonagall stood and handed a stack of paperwork to each of Harry’s parents. ‘I imagine you’ll want proof.’ she said and turned into a cat. Their cat hissed at her, from the top of the bookshelf he had retreated to when a stranger entered his home. Professor McGonagall stalked around the room as a cat for about a minute before transforming back into a human. ‘Harry, Colin and Dennis are Wizards.’

‘You mean they could do that.’ Harry’s mum hugged Dennis tight to her.

‘Not at the moment.’ Professor McGonagall said. ‘Possibly not ever. That was very advanced form of magic but you will have noticed little things. The boys being able to get to the biscuit tin no matter where you put it.’ Harry, Colin and Dennis glanced at each other guilty. ‘Things breaking and then repairing themselves.’

Their parents both nodded at that. ‘Floating teddies,’ their mum said, ‘we always thought it was sleep deprivation.

‘And getting in to our bed when he couldn’t climb up on to the sofa.’ Their dad added.

‘You are Muggles, the word we use to describe non-magical people, and the boys are all adopted?’ Professor McGonagall asked. They all nodded. ‘I can’t tell you if the boys’ birth parents were Wizarding or Muggle. However, that they were adopted by Muggle parents makes it very unlikely that both the boys’ parents were from a long magical lineage.’

Professor McGonagall talked for a long time about how magical education was required and what felt like a very rushed over view of how the Wizarding World separated itself from what she called the Muggle world. Dennis looked like he was falling asleep and Harry and Colin’s stomachs were grumbling when their parents told them to go finish up breakfast. It was two hours before she left and their parents looked frazzled. 

Mum spent most of the next week filling in forms when she wasn’t working and their dad answered most of their questions. Harry was aware that he and his brothers often overwhelmed their parents with their enthusiasm and tried not to be too annoying.

Five days after Professor McGonagall visited an owl arrived with a thick letter. Their mum bundled the forms she had been filling in to a neat roll and sent it off with the owl. That night, she and Harry’s dad sat him down in his new room after Colin and Dennis had been put to bed.

‘Harry,’ his mum sounded very serious, ‘we need to talk about your birth mum and dad.’

‘Professor McGonagall has looked in to both your and Colin and Dennis’s birth parents,’ his dad continued, ‘so none of you would be surprised by anything connected to them when you start Hogwarts.’ He drifted off. Dad was always soft spoken and normally left the difficult conversations to Mum.

Mum took over. ’You remember the civil war in the 70s she talked about?’ Harry nodded. ‘She sent us a long letter that you are welcome to read and some suggested books but as I understand it, your birth parents were members of one of the two guerrilla groups fighting each other in the conflict. They were Lily and James Potter. James had no surviving relatives at the time of his death and Lily’s only surviving relative was her Muggle sister which is how you came in to the Muggle care system. You were born Harry James Potter.’ 

‘How did they die?’ Harry asked.

‘This is the bit your dad and I don’t really understand,’ his mum said opening the letter. ‘According to Professor McGonagall, your mum and dad were targeted by the leader of the other side of the civil war, who called himself Lord Voldemort,’ his mum stumbled over the unfamiliar name, ‘but people called him You-Know-Who-’

‘Maybe it wasn’t because they were scared but because the pseudonym is so silly.’ Harry’s dad joked.

His mum glared at his dad and continued as though she hadn’t been interrupted. ’The leader of the other side killed your mum and dad and tried to kill you.’ Mum ran her finger over a particular line in the letter. ‘Professor McGonagall is unclear here, she says “No one living really knows what happened that night but Lily and James were killed, You-Know-Who was vanquished, and Harry was miraculously still alive.” You were heralded as the hero of the Wizarding world. Although Professor McGonagall thinks it far more likely the your mother and father did something as they were both brilliant and forewarned they were targets.’

Harry nodded not really understanding. His dad gave Harry a hug and a kiss on the head. ‘We’ll figure it out.’

‘Because your dad had no surviving relatives and concern that you would be targeted by the other side or used for your new celebrity you were placed with your mum’s non-magical family.’ Harry’s mum put the letter on his bedside table. ‘We know from your Life Book that they were unable to take care of you.’

Harry snuggled in to the warm embrace of his parents. It was nice knowing his birth parents hadn’t given him up he thought as he drifted to sleep.

Early the following Saturday their dad bundled all three of the boys in to their ageing saloon and drove them up to Hatton and from there they took the tube to Charing Cross. Harry, Colin and Dennis were giddy with excitement even though only Harry would be able to get his wand and Hogwarts stuff this trip. The letter in Dad’s hand told him where to find the entrance to the Wizard’s secret street but they had to drag him into the grubby pub he seemed blind to.

‘Muggleborn.’ the old man behind the bar said. Harry nudged Dennis to stop him staring. ‘Enid’s going through.’ 

The man nodded at a similarly ancient looking woman who sighed and downed her drink. ‘Follow me.’ she said in a surprisingly posh accent. Harry had never seen any woman but Anne at the Green Man down a nearly full pint in one go and she’d tell you it wasn’t ladylike before she did it. She led them out back to a backyard as rundown looking as the pub and demonstrated the sequence to open the alley.

Diagon Alley was amazing. It was loud, chaotic and magical, Harry didn’t know where to look first. It was like nothing Harry had ever seen, Colin had resorted to squeaking he was so excited and Dennis felt like he was hyperventilating next to Harry. Harry’s dad had an itinerary for the day, suggested by Professor McGonagall. It started with a trip to Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank, to collect Harry’s key and change money.

Gringotts was nothing like the local bank Harry’s parents banked at nor the Building’s Society his grandparents kept an account each for him, Colin and Dennis. It was a huge, imposing building in gilt and white stone guarded by goblins dressed in plate armour like knights and holding polearms. Harry joined Colin and Dennis in bouncing on their toes with excitement, even though he heard his dad groan he couldn't stop the grin that was spreading over his face. He thought, this is so cool!

They were met in Gringotts by a towering giant of a man, who introduced himself as Rubeus Hagrid, Groundskeeper and Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts, ‘but everyone calls me Hagrid. You’ve grown Harry. I haven’t seen you since you were just a wee baby.’

Harry shuffled uncomfortably. ‘Sorry to take you so far out of your way.’ his dad said stepping in between them and distracting the man’s intensity. Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

‘No problem,’ Hagrid said, ‘needed to come here anyway. Important Hogwarts business.’ he started patting down his coat. ‘Dumbledore wanted me to go down to the vaults with Harry, explain things like.’ Hagrid ushered them towards the desk and Harry down to the carts without his dad or brothers over his dad’s objections.

The cart ride was exciting but Hagrid’s explanation of Wizarding money wasn’t particularly enlightening and Harry ended up just shovelling as much as he could fit into his money bag and hoping his dad could explain more when he got back up. Hagrid didn’t seem to enjoy the trip, he was a light shade of green when they got up to the top and they willing parted company with Hagrid but retained Harry’s key. 

Dad waited until Hagrid was gone and then counted Harry’s money. He winced slightly and returned to the counters. ‘Can we return some of this back to my son’s vault?’ he asked.

The goblin called for the same driver, Griphook, as had taken Harry and Hagrid down and they were back down on the carts. On the way down Dad explained how Wizarding money worked, the conversion rate and the rough cost of what Harry would need for Hogwarts. Unlike Hagrid, Dad enjoyed the ride leaning in with them on the way back up. The goblin smiled a considerably less mean looking grin as they got off than he had when Harry and Hagrid got off.

‘Professor McGonagall suggests getting your trunk and bag first, Harry.’ Dad said, ‘Colin, Dennis you have five sickles to spend on whatever you want but that is all. Harry you’ve got the same extra.’ Dad unfolded the letter from Professor McGonagall. ‘Your mum and I thought we’d get two owls, One to go to Hogwarts with you boys and one to stay at home.’

It was exciting but tiring, even if it was purchasing magical items Harry and his brothers were normal children and they did not enjoy shopping. Especially after spending more time than Harry, Colin or Dennis thought was reasonable in Flourish and Blotts. Dad bought all of the extra reading books Professor McGonagall had recommended and more. He was reading History at the OU[1] in the evenings and didn’t think just one overview history book that stopped in the 1850s was enough. By the time he had finished buying books, Harry’s trunk was getting rather full and Dennis was snoozing on Harry’s shoulder while Colin bounced impatiently. Only _Eeylops Owl Emporium_ broke the trend. They were fascinated by multitude of owls of every species under the sun. They excitedly danced up to the counter.

‘New students for Hogwarts?’ said the man behind the counter. 

‘Yep,’ Dad said, ‘it’s Harry’s first year.’ laying his arm across Harry’s shoulders. ‘We’re thinking two owls who will get on while they’re home during the holidays.’ 

The man behind the counter walked over to a pair Tawny owls, ‘These two are a bonded pair.’ he said. Neither of the two owls reacted to them and the larger of the two clicked his beak at Dennis’ fingers when he tried to stroke him. The man moved them on to another pair of owls, ‘These are Little owls.’ he said as a large white shape swept down on to a perch near Harry. ‘And this is a Snowy owl.’

The owl preened and leant against Harry encouraging him to stroke her. ‘She’s gorgeous.’ he breathed. 

‘She’s two galleons’ the shopkeeper said. ‘She would do well with a calmer pygmy owl.’ he walked across to three excitable small owls.

They left with the large snowy owl sitting regally in a cage and a small ball of feathers bouncing in his cage, who reminded Harry of Dennis when he’d been allowed sweets. He rather thought he’d prefer to take the little pygmy to Hogwarts to help combat the homesickness he was dreading. He’d only been away from home once for PGL[2] and he had spend the entire week wracked with homesickness.

The tube journey back the car was considerably more difficult, with both owls, all they needed to be cared for and Harry’s trunk full of his Hogwart’s supplies, even with the featherlight charms that had been applied by the shopkeepers.

Mum and Dad both booked September 1st off to take Harry and his brothers up to London and Colin saved his summer pocket money to buy a Wizard camera that he begged Harry to take to Hogwarts and bring back photos.

Before Harry knew it he was sitting in the back seat of the car yawning, Dennis sandwiched between him and Colin, the boot full, and Mum and Dad up front. His new glasses still felt weird and his new shoes were pinching his toes oddly. He hadn’t worn a real shirt for anything other than special occasions before but Hogwarts uniforms only called for black robes and _Hogwarts: A History_ suggested that smart clothing should worn underneath but not what was smart clothing in the Wizarding world so his mum had bought him black school trousers and the same white shirts he would have needed for Stonewall High, the local comprehensive he would have otherwise gone to. Hedwig and Almerick were stay at home and one would be sent up with a letter in the evening rather than being carted across country on a train by a small boy.

Despite setting off in plenty of time, the traffic was worse than his parents had expected and it was ten minutes until the train departed when they arrived at Kings Cross. They weren’t quite sure how to get on to the platfrom.The letter gave the platform number as nine and three-quarters and _Hogwarts: A History_ said the platform was hidden from Muggle eyes so they made their way straight to platforms nine and ten hoping that there would be some indication that Harry, Colin and Dennis could see.

Colin and Dennis were hopping with excitement and Harry was trying to piggy-back off of their excitement and not think that he wouldn’t see them again until Christmas. In their search for some indication of magic Dennis ploughed in to a small red headed girl not much taller than him.

‘Oi!’ she said, leaping back from Dennis.

‘-packed with Muggles, of course-‘ the plump woman with her said. 

Harry, Colin and their parents swung around to look at her. She had four similarly red headed boys with her each pushing a trunk like Harry’s dad and on the oldest boy’s trunk was an owl.

‘Now, what’s the platform number?’ she asked.

Harry’s parents started walking over to them and Harry rebalanced Colin from where he’d spun on to one leg and tipped over.

‘Nine and three-quarters!’ the girl Dennis had nearly knocked over and Dennis piped simultaneously.

‘Mum, can’t I go…’ the girl continued.

‘You’re not old enough, Ginny.’ the woman said and then to Dennis, ‘Hogwarts, dear?’

Dennis shook his head sadly. 

‘Not this year.’ Mum said, ‘It’s Harry this year and then Colin next first.’

‘Muggle?’ the woman asked and winced in sympathy when Mum nodded.

‘We weren’t quite sure of how to get on the platform.’ Dad said pushing Harry’s trunk up.

‘Not to worry,’ the woman said. ‘All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don’t stop and don’t be scared you’ll crash into it, that’s very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you’re nervous. Percy show them how it’s done.’

The oldest looking boy marched towards the platform and disappeared behind a large crowd of tourists. When they passed he was gone.

‘I’m Dennis,’ Dennis whispered to Ginny. ‘I’m sorry I bumped in to you.’

‘Fred you next.’ the plum woman said. ‘I’m Molly Weasley.’

‘I’m not Fred, I’m George,’ said one of two identical freckly boys. ‘Honestly woman, call yourself our mother? Can’t you tell I’m George?’

Mrs Weasley ignored her son’s dramatics and held her hand out to Mum. ‘Jessica Creevey.’

Fred or maybe George disappeared without as far as Harry could see doing anything other than walk towards the barrier as the other of the pair, George or Fred, called for him to hurry up. The moment the first was gone the second started walking towards the barrier.

‘Steve,’ Dad said holding out his hand, ‘and these are Harry, Colin and Dennis.’

‘You go now Harry,’ Mrs Weasley said, ‘before Ron.’

Harry began walking towards the barrier apprehensively, behind him he could hear Mrs Weasley ask, ‘Do you want me to take Colin and Dennis through with Ginny?’ and then he was through.

There was a scarlet steam engine waiting next to the packed platform. Hoping that his brothers would come through Harry idled near where he came through and was quickly joined by another of Mrs Weasley’s sons.

‘Ron.’ The boy said holding out his hand.

‘Harry.’

The next people through were Mrs Weasley, Ginny and Harry’s brothers. Mrs Weasley pushed Ron and Harry onto the train and they settled themselves into the first empty carriage they could find. Not a moment too soon, they were barely settled in their seats when the train started to pull away. On the platform Mrs Weasley, Colin, Dennis and Ginny waved frantically and Harry and Ron pressed themselves against the glass waving back until they couldn’t see them anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> 1 Open University - a part time distance learning option to getting a degree that in the 90s was free for your first degree.
> 
> 2 Parents Get Lost, a common fun school trip offered to Year 6s after their SATS to mostly get them out of the way because their curriculum for Primary School is done and the term hasn't ended yet. 
> 
> I’m going to leave it here as I don’t see this what-if dramatically changing the way canon progresses as Harry is a reactive protagonist in canon and none of the major initiators would change.
> 
> For example, the only major change from canon in PS is that Harry Creevey with his J-shaped scar is not immediately connected with Harry Potter who has a lightning bolt scar by anyone who didn't know Lily and James. This means that Ron and Harry develop a friendship before Ron finds out Harry is the Boy-Who-Lived and Malfoy never offers to teach Harry the right kind because Harry is already a Gryffindor with a blood traitor and Muggleborn as his best friends when Malfoy finds out. Otherwise, Harry has already seen Hagrid get the stone and is polite enough that he won’t turn down an invitation from Hagrid even if he’s confused about why he’s got it.


End file.
